Kozlov rallies to advance at USTA International Spring Championships

CARSON, Calif. – If past results are any indication, the future of American tennis is on display this week at the ninth annual USTA International Spring Championships being played at the Home Depot Center.

Sam Querrey, Vania King, Melanie Oudin and Sloane Stephens are just a few of the players who made stopovers at this event as juniors before enjoying success soon after on the pro tour.

Two young pro prospects who may someday follow the same path met in the first round on Tuesday in the boys’ 18s division and battled for more than two-and-a-half hours, before No. 2-seeded Stefan Kozlov, 15, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., pulled away from 16-year-old wild-card Ernesto Escobedo from West Covina, Calif., winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Kozlov was a finalist here last year as a 14 year old, a year before he turned professional. He currently trains at the USTA National Training Center in Boca Raton, Fla.

"I really like playing here. The conditions fit my game great," Kozlov said. "I had never played Ernesto before, but he has a big game. I’ve seen forehands like that in the juniors, but not that often."

Just two weeks ago, Kozlov made the final of an ITF Grade A event at the Copa Gerdau tournament in Porto Alegre, Brazil, losing to the top-seeded player from Italy in the final.

Escobedo is currently ranked in the 900s on the ATP Tour and was playing in his first ITF junior event of the year. He has instead decided to concentrate on ITF Pro Futures-level events, playing in four of them already this year, including two in Southern California.

In the top girls’ 18s match of the day, Peggy Porter of Dallas beat Tornado Ali Black of Miami, 7-5, 7-5. Porter had beaten Black the only other time they played in 2011 at an ITF event in Waco, Texas.

"We played once before, and I won in three sets," Porter said. "We’ve both developed so much since then. I knew she had a big forehand."

Porter will next play Alyssa Smith of Laguna Niguel, Calif., in the second round. Porter has beaten Smith in both their meetings, including in the final of the USTA Hardcourt 16s Nationals in 2011 in San Diego and again last week in the semifinals of the Claremont ITF event.

Connor Hance of Torrance, Calif., the No. 15 seed in the boys’ 16s, opened with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Evan Zhu. He next takes on top-seeded William Blumberg. Hance’s sister Kenadi also had a nice win on Tuesday, upsetting No. 8-seeded Alexa Corcoleotes of Hillsborough, Calif., in the girls’ 16s, 6-1, 6-3.

In an 18s match-up scheduled for Wednesday of last year’s Easter Bowl winners in the 18s and 16s, respectively, No. 3-seeded Mackenzie McDonald takes on wild-card and UCLA recruit Joseph DiGiulio.

For a complete rundown of Tuesday’s scores and updated draws, click here.